Was revisiting this image today and realizing how much I really like this shot of Chris (The Byrds, Souther Hillman Furay, Flying Burrito Bros, Desert Rose Band, etc.) that I shot backstage upstairs at McCabe's Guitar Shop in Santa Monica back in 1986. Also struck at just how freaking great film can look when it's done right and it sure doesn't hurt to have one of the most beautiful guitars every made, this one being an early 1950's ('51 or '52) Gibson SJ200. This was Gibson's heyday and they did sunburst finishes better than anyone. Steve Swan, who sold this guitar to Chris, told me it was the finest sounding example of a J200 he had ever come across.
Being 1986, this had to have been shot on an RB67 and most likely with a 180mm lens on Kodak EPN 120 film. This was back when you'd shoot a few Polaroids to dial in your shot, shoot your film and you'd never really know what you got until your second trip to the lab. Seems quaint today.
And of course, that little old drum scanner doesn't hurt either.
Well done Peter. Looks great. The broad light works great here. Did you warm it up after the scan or did you filter lights or in camera? My experience was Ektachrome was always a little cool.
airfrogusmc wrote:
Well done Peter. Looks great. The broad light works great here. Did you warm it up after the scan or did you filter lights or in camera? My experience was Ektachrome was always a little cool.
Well, thirty-eight years later I don't remember exactly, but I used to shoot that stuff almost all the time with an 81C over the lens. Sometimes an 81B and other times a D or and EF, so it was always being warmed up to some degree. I think that EPN was less blue than Ektachrome 64 so that probably helped too. And whatever the film actually looks like I'll make it look how I want after I scan it anyway, so a combination of all of it.
Dam, nice picture. The Byrds were pretty good.
Medium format and a drum scanner, really nice.
Always wanted to get a drum scanner but a flat bed one is all.
Shot a Roli twin lens for a bit but never dove into MF but always wanted to, the RG67 seemed pretty nice.
Bill Gass wrote:
Dam, nice picture. The Byrds were pretty good.
Medium format and a drum scanner, really nice.
Always wanted to get a drum scanner but a flat bed one is all.
Shot a Roli twin lens for a bit but never dove into MF but always wanted to, the RG67 seemed pretty nice.
Thanks Bill. Most of what I shot back then was on the Mamiya, first the RB and the the RZ system. Great lenses and a big piece of film. My father got me started on a twin lens Rollei when I was a kid. A good camera to learn on with a really great lens. I should have inherited that when he died but my sister threw it away. And that drum scanner is still working a quarter century later. I hope it lasts as long as I do.
So nice!!! Looking at this image shot on film, seeing how you posted it with the film strip info framing it, I wonder if that should be a thing, where images shot on film should be framed with the film strip info. It sets it apart, says this was shot on iconic film. What's interesting is the color of the film strip text meshes quite nicely with the image itself.
friscoron wrote:
So nice!!! Looking at this image shot on film, seeing how you posted it with the film strip info framing it, I wonder if that should be a thing, where images shot on film should be framed with the film strip info. It sets it apart, says this was shot on iconic film. What's interesting is the color of the film strip text meshes quite nicely with the image itself.
Thanks Ron. I guess that's something I've always done, or at least when it seems appropriate. Probably goes back to Edward Weston who often did that to show that he was using the entire frame when composing and didn't need to crop. Of course, that's sort of a ridiculous concept in the world of commercial photography. I still have a full set of filed out Beseler negative carriers so you could print sloppy borders in black and white and was not happy when going from Mamiya RB to RZ to discover that Mamiya had made the RZ neg exactly one millimeter longer than the RB frame, which forced me to buy another film holder and file that out just for the new camera.
Indeed he was Peter but if I remember, he never actually played it. I met him once in Nashville and was awe
inspired by his presence. He reminded me alot of Graham Nash in his facial appearance later in his life!
Danpbphoto wrote:
Indeed he was Peter but if I remember, he never actually played it. I met him once in Nashville and was awe
inspired by his presence. He reminded me alot of Graham Nash in his facial appearance later in his life!
Thanks for the memories!
Dan
He definitely played bass in the band but he was so shy (and young) in the early days that he would turn around and play with his back to the audience. He told me that Turn Turn Turn took something like 80 takes to get down.
Peter Figen wrote:
He definitely played bass in the band but he was so shy (and young) in the early days that he would turn around and play with his back to the audience. He told me that Turn Turn Turn took something like 80 takes to get down.
Thanks for the clarification Peter! Turn,Turn,Turn was another iconic song! The melodic voices sends shivers up my spine.
Your compositions of our idols of the past bring back so many memories. You prevent them from being lost in the disappearing brain cells of a 76yr olde fart!
Dan
PS..Afterthought..Have you ever thought of a project aka..a book of these iconic musicians? I for one would buy it in an instant. So on these cold winter daze I can reflect on part of my past and smile or cry. Both equally satisfying at this stage of my life.
Danpbphoto wrote:
Thanks for the clarification Peter! Turn,Turn,Turn was another iconic song! The melodic voices sends shivers up my spine.
Your compositions of our idols of the past bring back so many memories. You prevent them from being lost in the disappearing brain cells of a 76yr olde fart!
Dan
PS..Afterthought..Have you ever thought of a project aka..a book of these iconic musicians? I for one would buy it in an instant. So on these cold winter daze I can reflect on part of my past and smile or cry. Both equally satisfying at this stage of my life.
Oh yes, I have definitely thought about it. I only wish I could publish all the behind the scenes stories, and in fact, about seven or eight years ago I had a show of these images at the gallery of a fellow FM'er Huss, who posted earlier in this thread and had been at my studio to have a scan made and insisted that we do a show. I did a couple copies of a Blurb book for that show but I was never very happy with how they printed it. Right now I have way too many things on my plate including working with Gee on her ambitious sabbatical project which will take up most of the year. But at least we'll (hopefully) be recording at the iconic East-West Studios on Sunset in Hollywood, the place where Sinatra went to when he left Capital and where so much of the classic cartoon music in the 1960's was recorded. And oh what a mic collection they have there.
Well all I can say brother is that you have a treasure trove of musical icons here of whatever musical style one likes.
If and when you do have some "down time" and are looking for a project..might this be one? Hopefully so!
Thanks brother!
Dan
